DTV delay gains support

Momentum is building for a postponement of the DTV transition, now scheduled for Feb. 17. Bills to be introduced today in the Senate and House, and scheduled for vote soon, would extend the deadline to June 12.

Last week, Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, urged Congress to delay the transition until a plan is in place to ensure that millions of consumers will not be left without access to news and emergency alerts. The incoming Obama administration subsequently called for a delay as well.

The legislation is backed by Senator John D. Rockefeller, incoming chairman of the Commerce Committee, and Representative Henry Waxman, House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, who warned that millions of Americans could lose all television service if analog broadcasts end next month.

The proposed 115-day delay would provide time to distribute $40 coupons to consumers now on a waiting list and those who haven't yet requested them, get converter boxes in place, and coordinate national and local support for consumers unable to get them working on their own. Waxman's bill also allows consumers whose coupons expired to reapply for assistance.

Others believe a delay would only create more confusion. Outgoing members of the Bush administration support legislation that would provide $250 million to fund the coupon program and urge faster distribution of coupons, but maintain that the Feb. 17 date should stand. However, it's unclear how consumers would receive coupons before that date should the extra funding be provided.

The National Association of Broadcasters, a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations, has not weighed in on the merits of a postponement, but the group last week urged Congress to provide more funding for the coupon program and to waive the expiration date on coupons now in circulation, among other things.

—Eileen McCooey